ARCA
Anoche★★★
XL Recordings
Alejandro Ghersi is a Venezuelan producer who has worked with Björk, Kanye and FKA Twigs. While compelling in many respects, this depressing track would also be highly suitable for playing at the end of a party when you want all your guests to go home.
RYAN ADAMS
Do You Still Love Me? ★★★★
PAX AM
Back in 2000, Ryan Adams released a song called Come Pick Me Up which, for my money, ranks second only to Dylan's Don't Think Twice, It's Alright as the greatest, bitterest break-up ballad ever recorded. He's had a few cracks at repeating the trick since. This opening track from his latest album Prisoner, about his break-up with Mandy Moore, is a case in point. With it's jarring, Eye of the Tiger-style power chords, the song didn't exactly blow me away the first time I heard it. But with repeated plays, the penny eventually dropped: the anguish, the incoherence, the fact that he's asking his lover "Do you still love me?" repeatedly, in front of a live audience, all of whom have likely figured out the answer, even if he hasn't quite yet come to accept it himself. This is real human pain… and there are few better musical conduits for that than Ryan Adams.
BAD SEA
Tell Me (What I Mean) ★★★
When Bad Sea's Ciara Thompson and Alan Farrell failed to click on a Tinder date, the Dubliners decided to form a band and make beautiful music together instead. Which contrasts markedly with my habit of agreeing to another date, then ignoring all further messages. Which is the superior strategy? Well, experts may debate it. But each has its own merits.
ARIANA GRANDE ft. FUTURE
Everyday ★★★
Republic
On the fourth video from her Dangerous Woman album, Ariana Grande wanders around in a puffy jacket watching couples have sex in inappropriate public places. She plays the 3Arena in Dublin on May 20th.
